Telangana Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao on Thursday took potshots against the Congress for "completely neglecting irrigation projects and doing immense injustice to Telangana" while it was in power.
Replying to a question in the Telangana Assembly, Rao pointed out that the Midmaneru project was a standing example in this regard. Though sanction was accorded for the project in 1993, works were not taken up till 2006. And despite being in power till 2014, the Congress could not complete the project, he charged.
The minister said that what the Congress could not do in 25 years, the TRS government did in just three years. While the Congress governments could spend only Rs 106 crores on the project, the TRS government had so far spent Rs 461 crores and completed the works necessary for storage of 10 TMC of water in the reservoir. And while the Congress could complete only 50,000 cft of concrete work, the TRS had completed 4.10 lakh cft of concrete work, he claimed.
Rao said that the Midmaneru project would meet the irrigation needs of two lakh acres besides ensuring drinking water to the people under the Mission Bhagiratha project. Drinking water would be provided to 466 villages by the end of December in 18 mandals of the Sircilla, Vemulawada and Choppadandi constituencies, he said.